According to Sky Sport's very reliable Matteo Moretto, Kays Ruiz-Atil is close to joining Barcelona on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, with his deal set to expire on June 30. His arrival could be made official in the coming days, Mundo Deportivo add. He is expected to be assigned to Barca B.
In case it is the first time you hear about the French wonderkid, here are the 3 key things to know about him.
La Masia past
Kays started his youth career in his hometown of Lyon and at the age of seven, he attracted the interest of Barcelona's scouts. Ruiz-Atil trained at La Masia between 2009 and 2015. However, he had to leave the club due to the ban FIFA imposed on Barca, joining PSG.
PSG role
Despite being only 18 years old and formally belonging to the U19 squad, Kays has already made his professional debut, having seven appearances for the Parisians under his belt. He was a regular player under Thomas Tuchel at the beginning of the 2020/21 season and even went on to play from the start in their 1-0 loss to Lens. However, he gradually lost his role and never featured under new coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Position
The Frenchman is quite a versatile player as he has been used in four different positions: central midfielder, attacking midfielder, left winger and centre forward. However, it seems like Kays functions best in the central midfielder position, with his 1.82m height allowing him to compete against seniors in Ligue 1.
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The Catalans are optimistic that the two midfielders will choose to stay, with their current deals expiring on June 30.
It's also added that Barca had the option to automatically extend their contracts before May 31 but chose not to since it would've meant promoting them to the first team and improving their salaries.
Nevertheless, Blaugrana count on the duo. Jandro is viewed as a potential replacement for Sergio Busquets and might be called up to do the pre-season with the senior side.
Oriol Busquets, meanwhile, is valued for his experience and B's new coach Sergi Barjuan wants the youngster to help in the new RFEF league next term.
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It will be Sergi's third stint at the club, as he played for Barca between 1993 and 2002 and then coached the U18 team at La Masia between 2009 and 2011.
The Spaniard previously coached Recreativo Huelva, Almeria, Mallorca and Zhejiang Greentown.
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